2014-15 record: 47-25-10 (104 points)
Lost to Chicago in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Shea Weber
For most of the 2014-15 season, it appeared that the Nashville Predators would be the ultimate out of the playoffs to Persidents' Trophy story. However, the last fourth of the season and the playoffs showed that the Predators began to run out of gas, ultimately falling to a playoff-tested Chicago team that would win the Stanley Cup. Most of the Preds players return except for trade deadline acquisitions Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli, as well as Taylor Beck. In their place is Barret Jackman, Cody Hodgson, and KHL import Steve Moses. Jackman will provide a stay-at-home presence that could help Shea Weber be more effective on the power play by reducing his penalty kill responsibilities. Hodgson will be looking for a fresh start after bottoming out with 13 points in Buffalo while Moses will be looking to break the KHL Curse that the likes of Roman Cervenka and Alexander Radulov have failed to do. Offensively, they found a couple of players that can spearhead it from the front as Filip Forsberg and James Neal proved to be solid while support players such as Mike Ribeiro, Craig Smith, and Colin Wilson contributed their fair share. The defensive unit is also solid, with Weber and Roman Josi being the top pairing while both Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis still have room to grow. Pekka Rinne proved that his injury problems of the previous two seasons were behind him as he played his way into Vezina Trophy consideration, and a repeat of last season wouldn't hurt, as Carter Hutton is merely serviceable while Marek Manzanec will continue to develop in Milwaukee.
Prediction: 4th in the Central Division
The Preds fine-tuned their roster with the hope that Jackman still has something left and Hodgson will benefit from leaving Buffalo. Still, the roster as currently constituted is not likely to be enough against powerhouses like Anaheim, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
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